


Sniff Out Opportunities

by Anzieizna



Series: Short stories [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Experimentation, Short Story, are you sensing a theme
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 07:27:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18912322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anzieizna/pseuds/Anzieizna
Summary: Short story about a polar bear and mermaid.





	Sniff Out Opportunities

Nanouk had been walking by the bank when she saw it. They’d just let everyone go outside, declaring it warm enough for the cubs to explore, and Nanouk had taken the chance to get away from her brothers.

She loved them, she really did, but they fought all the time when she just wanted to sleep and they were so annoying. Like, the word annoying didn’t express how annoying they were.

So, with her mother’s blessing, she ran off to the bank, then stopped at the sight of a weird creature just on the edge of the water, eyes wide and staring at the snow like it’d never seen it before.

The animal had long, dark hairs protruding from its head that seemed to move on their own, ending just below the green-stained neck. It had gills on the side of its head and a short, pointy nose, strange red markings around its eyes that spread to webbed hands that were pawing at the snow.

Nanouk would almost be tempted to call it a human, but apart from it having green skin instead of that sickly pale yellow, it also had the lower-half of its body engulfed by a fish. The creature’s chest came out of a red fish with grey eyes, mouth wrapped around its body as the tail flapped slowly under the water.

It was looking down, poking gingerly at the groun. Nanouk felt her tail whip slowly at the prospect of a new friend, and she bounded forward.

The creature didn’t seem to notice her, still caught up in its new discovery. Long hairs from its head were hovering just above the snow, moving slowly as it leaned closer and closer to land.

“It’s winter,” Nanouk said.

The creature in the water spun, gills at the side of its face raised in alarm and hands splayed wide. It’s eyes, however, revealed its curiosity, as it glanced back and forth between the frost and the fox slowly.

“Winter?” it asked.

“When the air gets cold?” Nanouk asked, tilting her head.

The creature copied the movement after a second, the hair from its head sloshing sideways. It sent a small grin Nanouk’s way before shaking its head. “I don’t think we have that in the Blue. It’s never…” it looked down, brushing its hair against the snow. “Like this.”

Nanouk snorted, and the fish-like animal looked up. “You don’t have winter?” the fox asked. The creature shook its head. “You’re lucky,” she told her. “Winter is horrible. It’s always really cold and the food goes away and hides for days at a time. We all get really hungry, and Mom and Dad have to go out for most of the day.”

The creature frowned, moving closer to the bank. “Sometimes it gets cold in the Blue, but never that bad. Usually we can get more food because all the fish are slower than they usually are.”

Nanouk grinned, sitting. She ignored the cold spreading through her body and leaned forward. “That sounds really cool. Is it that much easier?”

The fish-like thing nodded, narrowing its eyes. “It is. Why don’t you come over to the Blue, then? It seems much better than the Up.”

Nanouk guessed by ‘Up’ it meant land, and she snorted. “Ew – you want me to go in there?” She pointed a paw at the ocean, and the creature frowned softly. “But it’s so… dark and wet. We sometimes try to catch fish, but they escape so easily and we get cold quickly, so we like to hunt on land more often. Besides,” Nanouk continued, “we can’t breathe down there.”

“Oh?” the creature asked. “I think I’ve heard of your kind, then. I don’t get to go to the Up that often. My shoal like to stay away from the coasts, but I managed to get away for a while.”

“You ran away from your parents?” the fox asked, shocked. “I couldn’t ever imagine doing that! I think my mom would kill me if my brothers and I tried to get away!”

“Then how are you here?” The creature asked.

Nanouk shrugged her tail. “Mom’s not far behind. We’re just wandering right now. We haven’t been outside since yesterday, and I’ve been restless!”

With the last sentence she dropped to the ground, rump in the air and wiggling her body back and forth.

The animal blinked, stunned. “What are you doing?”

“You don’t know how to play?” Nanouk gasped.

It frowned. “That’s not playing.”

“Alright then,” the fox said, shaking her fur as she stood. “How do you play in the ocean?”

The creature narrowed its eyes, thinking, then shrugged. “We chase. We have a gave in our shoal where you have to try and knock someone off their path and try to get to the end place first. It’s fun,” it added when Nanouk looked speculative. “The water feels great going past you.”

“I don’t know,” Nanouk said, flapping a paw. “I think I’d rather stay on land than chase my brothers in water. Wet, wet water,” she added at the end.

The fish-like animal smiled, sharp fangs coming into view. “It’s not that bad. I can’t imagine having to walk on something so rough and cold for my entire life,” it said, tapping a finger to the white on the ground.

Nanouk leant down, putting her nose to the snow and sneezing. The creature laughed, its fins flapping happily and the fox grinned. “It’s called snow,” she said, “it falls from the sky during winter and makes everything cold. We can drink it, though, when it warms up.”

The creature looked down, poking at the snow. “This doesn’t like very drinkable,” it commented.

“When it melts,” Nanouk said, laughing. “Duh. We aren’t going to drink this right now – it makes you even more cold, which can make you sick. And being sick is bad.”

The fish looked up, waiting for a moment before opening its mouth. Before it could speak, though, a yip echoed through the trees behind them.

“That’s Mom,” Nanouk explained, quickly brushing the snow off her nose. “I have to go back now.”

“Okay,” the creature nodded. “Wait,” it said quickly, and Nanouk paused. “Could you… do you think you could come back?” It said, hesitating.

The fox smiled her largest smile, body shaking with the enthusiasm. “Of course!” She cheered. “I’ll see if I can make it tomorrow, in fact. If it’s warm enough I’ll come and see you, okay?”

The creature smiled shyly, teeth poking out once more. “Okay! I’ll be here, promise.”

“You better,” Nanouk said, beaming, before she turned and slipped back into the forest.


End file.
